SEMPER FIDO Bootcamp mixes fitness, obediance B1
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CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
THURSDAY, NOV. 1, 2012
LITERARY AWARDS
Reprieve for Les’s? Ferguson TRAILER PARK MAY REMAIN OPEN — AS LONG AS RESIDENTS PAY RENT BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Tenants in Les’s Trailer Park may not have to fight eviction notices sent out in September. Residents in the 72-trailer park were told recently in a letter that options would be explored to keep the park open if tenants paid their rent on time. In September, Robert Bresciani, the Calgary-based owner, told tenants they had a year from the date of the notice to clear out because the park would be shutting down.
Bresciani said he was tired of fighting with the provincial government over costly regulatory upgrades to the sewer and water systems. Some long-time tenants like Shelly Nelson and Anne Philion said they would fight the notices every step of the way. Nelson and her neighbours went to a lawyer who indicated there may be grounds to fight the eviction notices because of a small error on the notices. Nelson said it looks like they won’t have to go that route because of the latest notice. “We were told we had eviction no-
tices,” said Nelson. “Now we’re told as long as everyone pays their rent they will keep it running. How are we to know if everybody has paid their rent?” Nelson said most neighbours are planning to stay put while others continue to put up For Sale signs. “We are going to wait and see what happens,” said Nelson. “We’re not willing to walk away from our house. We’d like to sell it but we don’t want to sell it to somebody if it’s not going to be there in a year.”
Please see PARK on Page A2
DAY OF THE DEAD
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Olivia Gustafson, left, dressed as a dead little girl, and Maddy Rasmussen dressed up as a dead Elvis impersonator pose for a close-up as they make their way through Parkland Mall on Halloween night. The two girls joined hundreds of other children and their parents and caregivers who decided to head indoors for Halloween this year taking in the festivities at the mall. Bower Place Shopping Centre also hosted a night of Halloween fun.
wins Giller BY LAURA TESTER ADVOCATE STAFF A graduate of Red Deer’s Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School has won Canada’s prestigious literary 2012 Giller Prize. Will Ferguson, who graduated in 1983, accepted the award in Toronto on Tuesday for his dark novel called 419. In September, he was the keynote speaker at Red Deer Public School District’s 125th a n n i v e r s a r y ’ s Will Ferguson celebration dinner. At that time, Ferguson GILLER PRIZE C3 credited his experiences at Lindsay Thurber for sparking his love for creative writing. He was inducted into the Lindsay Thurber Hall of Fame in 2002. High school principal Jim Levette said that Ferguson spoke in late September with Grade 9 and 10 students, as well as some younger students from schools that feed into the high school. Levette said it will be so great to tell them that Ferguson has won such a coveted prize, and that they too can live out such a success as he has. Levette said that Ferguson was very positive on what he had to say about going to Lindsay Thurber. “The teachers had an impact on his life and on his writing,” said Levette. Ferguson told the students that his high school life affected how he sees the world and how he writes now. “So we’re really happy with that,” said Levette. A jury of three writers picked Ferguson after they had read more than 140 books. Ferguson’s fellow shortlisted authors were Alix Ohlin for her novel Inside, Nancy Richler for her novel The Imposter Bride, Kim Thúy for her novel Ru, and Russell Wangersky for his short story collection Whirl Away. Ferguson’s 419 novel is about an insidious Internet scam and a woman who sets out to track down and corner her father’s killer. ltester@reddeeradvocate.com
City revises snow clearance targets BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF Snowplow drivers will clear the roads following a more realistic timeline this winter, says a City of Red Deer official. In June, city council adopted a revised Snow and Ice Control policy that tweaks language, adds definitions and a separate level of service sections for roads, sidewalks, trails, bike lanes and transit stops. The policy is based on average snowfalls with adjustments made when there aren’t enough available resources, equipment fails or weather conditions are extreme. Under the previous policy, residential streets were earmarked to be cleared within 25 days, but often this target was not being met. Instead the streets were cleared on average within 36 days. The new standard falls within 40 days to complete the plowing and windrowing. Public Works manager Greg Sikora said service levels will not change because the expectations for removal were simply aligned with realistic targets. “In order to really truly to reflect what we are capable of we have to
PLEASE RECYCLE
adjust the triggers and targets,” said Sikora. “That’s not to say it’s a lower level of service. This is the level of service that we are providing that the community is familiar with.” Sikora said the policy revisions will allow residents to have a clearer idea of when to expect the sound of plows on the road. “Our guys work long, long hours,” said Sikora. “They need the space to work effectively. When you see them out there, please provide them with the working space they need. The 20-metre clear is to be taken seriously.” The snow removal budget for 2012 comes in at $2.92 million, a $570,000 increase from the previous year. The last time the policy was updated was in 2008. The downtown streets were given clear priority and will be plowed and removed within four days when there’s 10 cm of snow pack. The downtown is considered within 43rd Street to 55th Street and 47th Avenue to 53rd Avenue. Bike lanes marked by pavement markings will be cleared to a similar service level as the roadways upon they are located. Those bike lanes designated with physical barriers like curbs will be cleared on a ser-
WEATHER
INDEX
60% chance of showers
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Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Sanding trucks were busy on city streets Wednesday as snow and freezing rain fell. City of Red Deer has adopted a new snow and ice control policy which sets clear targets for snow and ice removal from city streets and public sidewalks. vice request basis and only as resources become available. Specific targets were outlined for sidewalk clearing within the new guidelines.
According to the policy, the intention is to have at least one clear walkway, on one side of the street, available along any corridor.
Please see SNOW on Page A2 CANADA
ALBERTA
JUSTICE MINISTERS TORIES TO REVEAL STUDY CYBERBULLYING DONATION FINDINGS Canada’s justice and public safety ministers say they’ll work together to see what more can be done to stop cyberbullying. A5
Albertans will be told the findings of a probe into whether Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz illegally contributed $430,000 to the Progressive Conservative party, Premier Alison Redford promised Wednesday. A3